I love Chebe’s dairy-free, gluten-free cinnamon mix for sweet and healthy pastries, but it had been a while since I made any. But then one day on Twitter, someone started talking about how they missed cinnamon sugar pop tarts. I like cinnamon sugar myself, especially on sweet treats like the Kinnikinnick gluten-free cinnamon sugar donuts. I had heard of people making pop tarts from Chebe mixes before, but never a cinnamon pop tart. I researched online and, inspired by various gluten recipes, came up with this healthy and dairy-free pop tart recipe. The cinnamon filling did ooze out a bit, as I hadn’t sealed it well enough, but even so, I was able to turn the tarts and coat them in the filling and ended up with a delicious treat. I gobbled down way more than my share, but the DH finished them off for me when he got home from work, pronouncing them chewy but yummy. I think a less health conscious version would be more crunchy- and I’ll try that next time and share the results. Hope you enjoy this new way to enjoy cinnamon Chebe- I know we did!

Combined softened margarine, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl until you have a smooth, granular filling. Keep pecans ready nearby.

Combine Chebe and egg in a small-medium bowl and mix. Add coconut oil, applesauce and dairy free milk and fold together. Knead the ingredients together until you have a smooth ball.

Break off portions of dough to roll inside a gallon ziploc type bag. When you have a nice thin layer of dough, cut the sides of the bag and peel it back. Cut the dough into rectangles and put a tablespoon or less of the cinnamon sugar filling on one half, leaving plenty of room around for sealing the pastry. Sprinkle it with pecans. Try to reserve a little filling if necessary. Fold over half of the dough and gently seal the pastry together. Use a fork to create folds all around the edge. Gently remove and place on a large cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Slice open steam release bits on top of each pop tart to try and minimize

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Carefully turn with spatula and bake for another five minutes minutes. Turn one more time so that the butter and sugar that has come out from the pastries coats both sides. If by some chance they DON’T leak, baste with a little leftover filling mixture. Bake for a few more minutes on both sides and cool.

Rating:6

Original Source:The contents of my brain, cravings after a workout. As with all Book of Yum recipes, don’t replicate anywhere without my permission.

This week I decided to make vegetarian dairy-free pizza toppings different than any I’d made before. First, I took inspiration from California Thai-inspired pizza to make a pizza with a peanut sauce base, topped with grilled broccoli, roasted chard, and fried tofu strips. The DH gobbled it up and didn’t miss the cheese at all, which is quite an accomplishment since he usually favors simple marinara and lots of cheese.

Then I decided to follow the Japanese model and make a creative dairy-free topping using some popular ingredients usually only seen in Japan- sweet corn and mayonnaise. I guess I should have put potatoes on it as well- but I didn’t think of it, so I’ll leave that for next time. This time I used a base NOT usually seen in Japanese restaurants- a dairy-free, pine nut based basil pesto. Corn added interest and mayonnaise added the rich, creamy dimension usually added by cheese. I wasn’t sure how the DH would like mayonnaise on pizza, but happily, he seemed to really enjoy it. To my surprise, I really liked it too.

Peanut sauce is one of my favorite things, and I really loved it on pizza with grilled veggies and tofu, but the Japanese-inspired mayo pizza was yummy too. I can safely say that we’ll make both again… and I can’t wait! If you have a peanut allergy but can tolerate almonds, try substituting almond butter for the peanut butter and using your favorite oil to saute the tofu. It should be delicious!

I did not use a strictly vegan crust because I wanted to use a mild onion-garlic chebe base and the Chebe crust turns out best with eggs. I basted the Crust with paprika seasoned chili oil for the Thai-inspired pizza, and basil infused oil for the Japanese-inspired pizza. However, you could easily use a Gluten-Free vegan crust like this one and it would be wonderful. The thai style topping is already naturally vegan, but if you want to try a vegan Japanese-mayo topping, just use a vegan GF mayonnaise like Miso Mayo or Vegannaise.

Combine peanut sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor, and reserve.

Slice tofu into thin strips and saute in oil, salting lightly. When golden brown on both sides, remove from pan and slice tofu strip in half horizontally. Reserve.

Sprinkle broccoli with sesame oil and rub so evenly distributed through florets. Season with smoked paprika, salt, and brown sugar. Grill (or roast in oven on high heat) until you have lovely grill marks on both sides. Reserve.

Preheat oven to 425. Rinse and dry chard leaves, dribble a few drops of sesame oil and evenly distribute. Sprinkle a tiny amount of salt on them and place on a large cookie sheet. Roast chard leaves until done to your taste (can be dry and leaf-like or moist- depends on how you prefer!) Watch the oven carefully. When chard is done, remove and reserve.

Heat peanut sauce on stove until it thickens lightly.

Prepare pizza by spreading a layer of peanut sauce and topping with thinly sliced grilled broccoli, roasted chard, and fried tofu strips.Bake on 425 for 10-20 minutes, depending on your pizza crust and how crunchy you like the crust. Sauce should thicken more on the pizza. Enjoy!